Bank of China Talks about Bitcoin- Will we see National Cryptocurrency?

China‘s estranged relationship with Bitcoin is being revived, although cautiously. One of the country’s leading financial institutions, the Bank of China (BoC), has made positive comments on Bitcoin. The bank released an infographic detailing the value, use, and how cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin as an example, works.

The crypto community was quick to point to the growing support from unlikely quarters. For example, on Twitter, the CSO of BlockStream, a crypto-focused firm, Samson Mow, said:

“Yesterday, the Bank of China posted up an article about Bitcoin. They explained how BTC works, why the price is going up, and why it’s valuable. Never thought I’d see that happen.”

Don’t confuse Bank of China with People’s Bank of China

The Bank of China, which has a global presence, shouldn’t be confused with China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). China’s central bank is tasked with making regulations impacting the country’s monetary systems.

Despite the recent controversy surrounding Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, the infographic featured Sun saying the “biggest problem is too much money!” Unfortunately, the presence of Sun’s picture on the infographic was not clear since it was placed side by side with that of a Bitcoin trader who took their life after losing 2K Bitcoins.

Apart from a rather cold start, the rest of the infographic was devoted to the revolutionary power found in Bitcoin. Some of the positives expressed by the Bank of China include Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, anonymity (to some degree), price fluctuations, and its hard-to-fake nature. Additionally, BoC continued to outline Bitcoin’s journey from its birth, through to one of the highest Bitcoin heists, Mt. Gox, and the birth of Facebook Libra, a crypto project by the social media giant.

Bitcoin used to counter hyperinflation

Surprisingly, the BoC outlines Bitcoin’s strength by portraying its usage in countries facing massive inflation rates. For example, according to the infographic, Zimbabweans have turned to Bitcoin in the wake of excessive inflation rates in the country’s economy. Additionally, Bitcoin ATMs were featured on the infographic with special focus being given to their accessibility. The Bank of China also hailed Bitcoin for enabling frictionless cross-border payments/ remittances.

To give it a balanced feel, the BoC included sentiments from Warren Buffett among other Bitcoin bashers. Fortunately, this was followed by a picture of China’s most significant Bitcoin holder, Li Xiaolai, using a fiat note to light a cigarette.

Although the Bank of China cautioned people against over-relying on speculative investments, the crypto community saw it as a positive move towards Bitcoin‘s adoption. Some crypto enthusiast saw it as China’s “general sentiments,” which are “in favor of Bitcoin.”

The USA disagrees, China agrees

Notably, the infographic comes a few days after the United States president, Donald Trump, and other top officials in his government discredited the power of Bitcoin. According to Trump, Bitcoin “is based on thin air” and preferred by criminals.

Additionally, with China reportedly working on a national virtual currency, the infographic by the BoC acts as an additional pointer towards such plans.